Sula Hood

Dr. Sula Hood is a Senior Research Scientist in the Center for Communication and Engagement Research at RTI. She has extensive training and experience in health communication research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including a two-year National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded traineeship completed in the nationally recognized Health Communication Research Laboratory (HCRL). She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Dr. Hood joined RTI in 2022 and plays a key role in the NIH All of Us Research Program, a historic effort to enroll one million or more participants in a longitudinal research cohort to speed up health research discoveries, enabling new kinds of individualized health care. Dr. Hood serves as a Co-Lead for the All of Us Researcher Academy. The academy provides training and technical assistance to researchers who are registered to access and analyze All of Us data. The academy also supports peer-to-peer learning and network-building among researchers and students.  

Dr. Hood holds an interest in understanding patterns and characteristics of interpersonal communication within families, with an emphasis on family health history information sharing. She utilizes her study findings to inform the development of community-based programs and strategies to promote the importance of family health history awareness and genetic literacy.

Dr. Hood’s professional experience includes over 17 years of leading community engaged research studies. She designs, implements, and evaluates large and small-scale population health programs and interventions focused on cancer, type 2 diabetes, and sickle cell disease as examples. She is highly experienced in conducting formative studies to inform the development of solutions that are responsive to the expressed needs and preferences of community stakeholders.

Dr. Hood has received national recognition for her contributions to social networks and family health communication research. In 2016, she was recognized as a Duke Social Networks and Health Fellow. She is also an invited member of the CDC National Family Health History Working Group.